Sheet piling removed from canals

The Army Corps of Engineers began pulling temporary sheet piling from the 17th Street and London Avenue canals on Monday afternoon, as the water level in Lake Pontchartrain dropped to a point where water from the canals could be pumped out.

The mouths of both canals were blocked on Wednesday to prevent anticipated of storm surge pushed into the lake by Hurricane Rita from flowing into the canals. By Monday afternoon, the lower lake levels no longer threatened the emergency repairs of breaches made by Hurricane Katrina to the flood walls along the canals, corps officials said.

Pulling the sheet piling allows stormwater inside the city and in neighboring Metaire to be directed to the lake through the canals.